Mold for producing a toy figure

ABSTRACT

A mold for producing a toy figure standing upright on a support surface and made from loose material, the mold having two mold halves which can be placed together at their edges of identical contour and which form an inner space that can be filled with the loose material and that corresponds to the desired toy figure, while the two edges forming an admission opening extend in a plane corresponding to the support surface, wherein the edges, of identical contour, of the mold halves are designed so that they extend at the locations of the respectively greatest diameters in any cross-sectional plane.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a mold for producing a toy figure standing upright on a support surface and made from loose material, said mold consisting of two mold halves which can be placed together at their edges of identical contour and which form an inner space that can be filled with the loose material and that corresponds to the desired toy figure, while the two edges forming an admission opening extend in a plane corresponding to the support surface.

STATE OF THE ART

From DE 442 816 A a sand toy is known in case of which a variety of individual molds serve for producing three-dimensional sand figures. Said molds are filled with moist sand and after pressing in the sand are turned upside down and lifted and represent parts of animal figures or other figures, the individual molds being designed so that by replacing them and using further individual molds they can be assembled to create various sand figures. After lifting the individual molds this sand toy leaves only sand figures lying flat on the ground with relatively flat elevations thus representing a very monotonous toy for children in the long run.

From DE 881 319 B it is known to design sand molds preferably consisting of plastics in such a way that at least two sand molds each can be assembled to create another toy structure for example a toy figure, a toy building or alike. However for keeping the sand molds together in their position, fastening means as parts of a toy structure are provided which in addition wheels, shafts, base plates and/or other accessories are assigned to by means of which the toy structure made of sand molds can be formed as a mobile toy. In case of this toy the sand molds themselves are assembled to form a new toy structure. However sand figures will not be made with it.

From DE 16 03 202 A a sand mold toy is known consisting of two composable, possibly mirror-imaged mold parts which are assembled at their edges of identical contour being situated in a vertical plane and which are open at their admission opening and subsequent support surface being situated in a horizontal plane. This sand mold toy has the disadvantage that it is not possible to make sand figures showing elevations which may be torn off the sand figure when pulling the mold parts apart and which even may cause the sand figure to fall down. Therefore this sand mold toy allows to make only sand figures which basically show smooth surfaces without any elevations situated transversely to the pulling direction of the molds to be pulled apart.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

Based on this state of the art the primary object of the present invention is to provide a mold of the type mentioned at the beginning which allows to produce also toy figures showing not only simple elevations in the pulling direction of the mold parts to be pulled apart but corresponding to the shape of more interesting three-dimensional figures which show elevations also transversely to the pulling direction, in particular animals, cars, ships or complicated houses.

Solution of the Problem

This object is achieved by a mold having the features defined in claim 1.

Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

Advantages of the Invention

The advantages of the invention consist in particular in the fact that the toy figures which can be produced are more diverse and more interesting than the toy figures producible by means of the molds known so far.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings and will be described in detail as follows:

FIG. 1 depicts a finished toy figure standing upright on a support surface,

FIG. 2 is a side view of two assembled mold halves,

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the admission opening of two assembled mold halves

FIG. 4 is a cross section along the line A-A according to FIG. 2 of two mold halves assembled and filled with loose material, and

FIG. 5 is a cross section along the line B-B according to FIG. 2 of two mold halves assembled and filled with loose material.

FIG. 1 depicts a frog as a finished toy FIG. 2 standing on a support surface 1. As can be easily seen this toy FIG. 2 shows elevations in various directions which after filling in and pressing in the loose material 13 may cause damage to or even demolition of the toy FIG. 2 when pulling the mold halves 3 a, 3 b apart because the elevations situated transversely to the pulling direction are torn off.

FIG. 2 depicts the side view of two assembled mold halves 3 a, 3 b in case of which the problem of damage to or demolition of the toy FIG. 2 does not arise.

FIG. 3 shows the filling opening 8 into which the loose material 13 can be filled in.

FIGS. 4 and 5 each show a cross section along the line A-A respectively B-B according to figure of two assembled mold halves 3 a, 3 b filled with loose material 13. As can be seen from the two examples shown, the edges 4 a, 4 b of identical contour of the mold halves 3 a, 3 b are designed in such a way that in any cross-sectional plane they are situated at the points of the largest diameters each 9, 10. As a result, no elevations are in the way when pulling the mold halves 3 a, 3 b apart. In practice the measurement of the mold edges of course must be carried out at a great many cross-sectional planes in order to obtain perfectly working molds.

The filling of the mold halves 3 a, 3 b with the loose material 13 for example with moist sand is a simple thing that can be easily made by every child. The two mold halves 3 a, 3 b are put together in the empty condition so that the locking devices 7 with their pins situated on the mold part 3 a engage in the opposite openings on the mold part 3 b. These locking devices can also be designed as snap locks so that the mold halves 3 a, 3 b are connected more tightly to each other before being filled with the chosen loose material 13 through the admission opening 8 formed by the edges 5 a, 5 b on the bottom. After pressing in the loose material 13 the mold halves 3 a, 3 b are placed in an upright position so that the edges 5 a, 5 b stand on the ground. After releasing the locking devices the mold halves 3 a, 3 b can be pulled off the finished toy FIG. 2 by means of the child-oriented handles 6 a, 6 b attached to the outside.

Moreover it is possible to use plaster or cement as loose material 13 so that after the hardening of the plaster or cement and after pulling off the mold halves 3 a, 3 b a neat plaster figure or cement figure is created which in addition can be painted with any colour.

An interesting variation for the winter is to use snow as loose material 13, thus creating toy FIGS. 2 that have a smoother surface than those created with sand.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   1 Support surface -   2 Toy figure -   3 a Mold half -   3 b Mold half -   4 a Edge of identical contour of 3 a -   4 b Edge of identical contour of 3 b -   5 a Edge of 3 a forming the admission opening -   5 b Edge of 3 b forming the admission opening -   6 a Handle attached to 3 a -   6 b Handle attached to 3 b -   7 Locking device -   8 Admission opening -   9 Diameter according to cross section A-A -   10 Diameter according to cross section B-B -   11 a Cross sectional area on 3 a according to cross section A-A -   11 b Cross sectional area on 3 b according to cross section A-A -   12 a Cross sectional area on 3 a according to cross section B-B -   12 b Cross sectional area on 3 b according to cross section B-B -   13 Loose material 

1-8. (canceled)
 9. A mold for producing a toy figure standing upright on a support surface and made from loose material, the mold comprising two mold halves formed asymmetrically to each other and having first edges, the mold halves being placeable together at the first edges situated in a parting surface while two additional edges form an admission opening and extend in a plane of the support surface, wherein the parting surface with the edges of the mold halves is formed as a curved surface.
 10. The mold according to claim 9, wherein the first edges of the mold halves are situated at locations of respectively greatest extension in any cross-sectional plane.
 11. The mold according to claim 9, wherein the mold halves consist of plastics with a wall thickness of at least 2 mm or of thinner sheet metal.
 12. The mold according to claim 9, wherein the mold halves in an assembled condition have child-oriented handles situated on an outwardly directed surface which serve for pulling the mold halves apart.
 13. The mold according to claim 9, wherein the mold halves in an assembled condition are detachably connected with each other by locking devices.
 14. The mold according to claim 13, wherein the locking device are snap locks.
 15. The mold according to claim 9, further comprising accessories for the toy figure, the accessories being insertable into a finished toy figure at corresponding points.
 16. The mold according to claim 15, wherein the accessories consist of wood, plastics or woven fabrics.
 17. The mold according to claim 9, wherein the loose material is sand, clay or snow.
 18. The mold according to claim 9, wherein the loose material plaster or cement. 